Vulnerability Note VU#403768

Akeo Consulting Rufus fails to update itself securely

Overview

Akeo Consulting Rufus fails to securely check for and retrieve updates, which an allow an authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

Description

Akeo Consulting Rufus 2.16 retrieves updates over HTTP. While Rufus does attempt to perform some basic signature checking of downloaded updates, it does not ensure that the update was signed by a trusted certificate authority (CA). This lack of CA checking allows the use of a self-signed certificate. Because of these two weaknesses, an attacker can subvert the update process to achieve arbitrary code execution.

Impact

An attacker on the same network as, or who can otherwise affect network traffic from, a Rufus user can cause the Rufus update process to execute arbitrary code.

Solution

Apply an update

This issue is addressed in Rufus 2.17.1187. Please also consider the following workarounds:

Don't use built-in update capabilities

Because Rufus does not include the ability to securely install updates, any Rufus updates should be obtained from https://rufus.akeo.ie/ directly, using your web browser.

Avoid untrusted networks

Avoid using untrusted networks, including public WiFi. Using your device on an untrusted network increases the chance of falling victim to a MITM attack.